Feld Entertainment CEO moves in, with circus

Feld Entertainment CEO Kenneth Feld made one of his few local appearances Wednesday to speak to the Rotary Club of Sarasota at Marina Jack. He said his primary home will be on Lido Key and little of the company remains in its former Virginia headquarters.

Published: Thursday, December 5, 2013 at 1:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, December 4, 2013 at 7:56 p.m.

Feld Entertainment has settled into its new corporate and operational headquarters in Ellenton, and is using the cavernous buildings there to hatch not only the next versions of the Greatest Show on Earth but one that will bring to life the characters of Marvel Comics starting next summer.

Feld's consolidated studios in Ellenton will employ more than 400 full-time by the end of 2014, chief executive Kenneth Feld said Wednesday.

"Ellenton is an extraordinary facility for us to create all these great shows," Feld said during a half-hour speech to about 100 members of The Rotary Club of Sarasota -- one of the few speeches the CEO has given since his 2012 decision to consolidate the company's substantial global operations in Southwest Florida.

"Because we are vertically integrated, we build our show, and literally, 40 feet away we are rehearsing it, which saves a tremendous amount of money on transportation and economies of scale," he said. "This doesn't exist anywhere else on the planet."

Because of the unique nature of the new entertainment complex, Feld Entertainment is fielding inquiries from others involved in creating touring shows, such as musical acts.

"So I believe, over time, we will have a lot of other shows that will want to rehearse in our facility, have us help them build it," Feld told the group.

Feld has previously estimated the economic impact of the new complex at $3.5 billion during the next 20 years.

Move completed

Feld Entertainment acquired the long-vacant complex in May 2012 for $8.5 million, and has spent that much or more renovating the space to suit its needs.

Those run the gamut from standard offices to studios designing and making circus props and costumes and building monster trucks.

Feld, 65, told the Herald-Tribune that he has been spending 70 percent of his time in Southwest Florida since June, and that he is revamping a condominium on Lido Key as his primary home.

His move puts a punctuation mark on the fact that his large family-owned entertainment conglomerate has now completed its move from Vienna, Va., to Ellenton, where the company bought the 46-acre campus along the north shore of the Manatee River.

Now only about 20 staffers are left at the company's former headquarters offices in the Washington suburb of Vienna. They are mostly lawyers and lobbyists who need to stay there, a Feld publicist said.

While Feld's permanent staff in Manatee County may plateau at 400, the population of its campus will swell to roughly 1,000 each winter. Starting next December, the rehearsals for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey will move there from Tampa.

The company is now gradually moving other rehearsals there as well.

The first Feld show to rehearse in Ellenton -- last summer -- was Disney Live.

A much more elaborate arena show involving choreographed motorcycle stunts and pyrotechnics, called Nuclear Cowboyz, will practice there starting next week.

A new show

In the spring, the company's newest creation, a touring show called Marvel Universe Live, will use the same rehearsal halls.

Feld was clearly most excited about this latest venture.

Since acquiring the rights from Marvel Comics earlier this year to do live touring arena shows around the world, Feld Entertainment has been doing intensive research and development behind closed doors in Ellenton, he said.

"It will be the largest and most complicated production that we have ever done," Feld told the Rotary group.

The company has hired Hollywood stunt teams to stage flying and stunt technology that, until now, "has only been done in the movies," Feld said.

The show also will use 3-D projection mapping to immerse arena-sized audiences in the Marvel Universe.

One of the biggest challenges has been converting the work of movie stunt people into acts that will work on a wide-open stage, he said.

"They are the best in the world, but they never have to finish anything, because they do a shot and then they can stop," Feld said.

"We do have to finish it," he said. "If Spider-Man is going across the arena, he can't stop in the middle."

The new show will combine elements that Feld Entertainment's creative staff learned from all its shows -- from the motor sports division to the circus to the ice shows.

"I believe it will probably change the face of live family entertainment -- touring entertainment -- in the world," Feld said.

<p>Feld Entertainment has settled into its new corporate and operational headquarters in Ellenton, and is using the cavernous buildings there to hatch not only the next versions of the Greatest Show on Earth but one that will bring to life the characters of Marvel Comics starting next summer.</p><p>Feld's consolidated studios in Ellenton will employ more than 400 full-time by the end of 2014, chief executive Kenneth Feld said Wednesday.</p><p>"Ellenton is an extraordinary facility for us to create all these great shows," Feld said during a half-hour speech to about 100 members of The Rotary Club of Sarasota -- one of the few speeches the CEO has given since his 2012 decision to consolidate the company's substantial global operations in Southwest Florida.</p><p>"Because we are vertically integrated, we build our show, and literally, 40 feet away we are rehearsing it, which saves a tremendous amount of money on transportation and economies of scale," he said. "This doesn't exist anywhere else on the planet."</p><p>Because of the unique nature of the new entertainment complex, Feld Entertainment is fielding inquiries from others involved in creating touring shows, such as musical acts.</p><p>"So I believe, over time, we will have a lot of other shows that will want to rehearse in our facility, have us help them build it," Feld told the group.</p><p>Feld has previously estimated the economic impact of the new complex at $3.5 billion during the next 20 years.</p><p><b>Move completed</b></p><p>Feld Entertainment acquired the long-vacant complex in May 2012 for $8.5 million, and has spent that much or more renovating the space to suit its needs.</p><p>Those run the gamut from standard offices to studios designing and making circus props and costumes and building monster trucks.</p><p>Feld, 65, told the Herald-Tribune that he has been spending 70 percent of his time in Southwest Florida since June, and that he is revamping a condominium on Lido Key as his primary home.</p><p>His move puts a punctuation mark on the fact that his large family-owned entertainment conglomerate has now completed its move from Vienna, Va., to Ellenton, where the company bought the 46-acre campus along the north shore of the Manatee River.</p><p>Now only about 20 staffers are left at the company's former headquarters offices in the Washington suburb of Vienna. They are mostly lawyers and lobbyists who need to stay there, a Feld publicist said.</p><p>While Feld's permanent staff in Manatee County may plateau at 400, the population of its campus will swell to roughly 1,000 each winter. Starting next December, the rehearsals for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey will move there from Tampa.</p><p>The company is now gradually moving other rehearsals there as well.</p><p>The first Feld show to rehearse in Ellenton -- last summer -- was Disney Live.</p><p>A much more elaborate arena show involving choreographed motorcycle stunts and pyrotechnics, called Nuclear Cowboyz, will practice there starting next week.</p><p><b>A new show</b></p><p>In the spring, the company's newest creation, a touring show called Marvel Universe Live, will use the same rehearsal halls.</p><p>Feld was clearly most excited about this latest venture.</p><p>Since acquiring the rights from Marvel Comics earlier this year to do live touring arena shows around the world, Feld Entertainment has been doing intensive research and development behind closed doors in Ellenton, he said.</p><p>"It will be the largest and most complicated production that we have ever done," Feld told the Rotary group.</p><p>The company has hired Hollywood stunt teams to stage flying and stunt technology that, until now, "has only been done in the movies," Feld said.</p><p>The show also will use 3-D projection mapping to immerse arena-sized audiences in the Marvel Universe.</p><p>One of the biggest challenges has been converting the work of movie stunt people into acts that will work on a wide-open stage, he said.</p><p>"They are the best in the world, but they never have to finish anything, because they do a shot and then they can stop," Feld said.</p><p>"We do have to finish it," he said. "If Spider-Man is going across the arena, he can't stop in the middle."</p><p>The new show will combine elements that Feld Entertainment's creative staff learned from all its shows -- from the motor sports division to the circus to the ice shows.</p><p>"I believe it will probably change the face of live family entertainment -- touring entertainment -- in the world," Feld said.</p><p>"It is going to be that far advanced."</p>